Sunday, January 21, 2018

Crossroads Church

Today we worshiped at Crossroads Church, 8533 Peters Road, Cranberry Township, PA 16066, 412.494.9999, www.crossroadsumc.org, Mike Arnold, Campus Pastor.


Scripture – NIV

Joshua 7:1-21 –

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

“ ‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’ ”

Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.

Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Romans 5:8 –

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 –

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

James 5:16 –

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.


Bob’s thoughts:

I am quick to admit it is a joy to be in worship with any of our grandchildren. They often bring memories of our times in church with their parents when they were young.

I made a few notes from today’s message before my youngest granddaughter crawled onto my lap to tell me stuff and color. I’m not sure if it would be better if I could understand everything she told me, perhaps not. One I did understand was a caution that we shouldn’t talk while Pastor Mike was talking…I believe that was for everyone but her.

When they were looking for people to sign up for areas in the church where members could serve, my grandson was quick to respond that he could sing. A few days ago, when I was explaining to a pastor about asking the shut-in members to pray for others who are ill and shut in and talking about the purpose and ownership that comes with participation, I was reminded of an experience.

There was a woman who attended regularly but was seldom involved with any other aspect of the church. I asked her to help by keeping the pencils in the holder next to the pew pads. Not only did she check and replenish the pencils, she started to participate in other areas of the church…she had ownership. Our children were the same, restacking Bibles, picking up Communion cups and leftover bulletins from the pews. There are so many things we never give a though to, but we notice when these jobs are not done.


Jan’s thoughts:

We had the pleasure of joining some of our family again for worship this morning at the early service, so we got to sit with some grandkids before joining the rest of the grandkids, including the out-of-town visitors, for an early lunch.

As always, the members of this congregation were friendly, greeting us and others outside and holding the door as we approached.

As we entered the sanctuary I noticed the small tables were all off to the side, each with a display exhibiting some aspect of ministry within the church. During the announcements I learned this was an opportunity for anyone who was not already serving in some way to look into how they could best use their gifts and talents.

The current message series is entitled Unstuck, and this was part three, called Failing Forward. It began with a series of brief stunt videos that were paused for a few seconds so the congregation could guess by show of hands whether the person would “make it or break it.” The topic was failure, one everyone present could identify with through personal experience.

The pastor touched first on The Truth About Sin: it is a failure to obey God, it separates us from God, and it may be personal but it’s never private because it affects those around us.

He went on to list three lies failure tell us, each countered by the hope given to us by the Truth: the lie that we should give up, and the hopeful truth that God does not give up on us; the lie that we are rejected by God, and the truth that God forgives us; the lie that when we fail, we are just carrying on the family tradition, and the truth that God adopts us as His children regardless.

He advised that in order to overcome the inevitable failures in our lives, we must confess them and resolutely turn away from them (i.e., repent).

I hate thinking about the ways I have failed, but today I was grateful to be there for this encouraging, hope-filled message.

We had the deep delight of joining our children and grandchildren in the Lord’s Supper. It was an exceptionally blessed time.


Our prayer for this church:
Awesome Lord, guide us all in service to Your Church as we pray to humbly serve You. Amen.

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